High School Sports

Top-seeded Seton stops Buckeye, reaches Division II final

Chandler Seton Catholic’s girls are in their annual customary spot to challenge for a basketball championship.

It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s the old Class 3A, the old Class 4A Division II or the latest grouping, Division II, the Sentinels are ready.

This time, Seton will face Vail Cienega for the championship on Saturday (March 1), courtesy of a 58-47 victory over Buckeye High in a semifinal game on Thursday (Feb. 27) at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.

It wasn’t as easy as the numbers might indicate.

Seton, the top seed, had a big lead in the first half, only to watch it evaporate as 12th-seeded Buckeye pulled even with 20-20 halftime tie.

Seton (31-3) gradually pulled away in the second half.

“We were not getting good ball pressure in the second quarter, and we did a lot better job of that in the second half,’’ said long-time Sentinels coach Karen Self.